Heartache
by helenoftroy2107
Summary: Meredith shows up while Bonnie is visiting her family and has a heart to heart conversation with Damon


**AN: I don't own anything!**

**This one is another oneshot set in the Mesmerised universe. It takes place around a month after Brother's blood**

**Heartache**

"I am so sorry, honey." Bonnie turned back and reached to hug Damon once again.

"It's alright, really!" he smiled at the skeptical look on her face. "I'll be ok without you for a few days."

He embraced her and held her tight just as she started pouting.

"You know I'll be in the bookshop all day long and I can always spend the evening with a beer in front of the TV. I'll have what to do to keep myself busy."

He let her go and held her at an arm's length. She was still pouting.

"I'll not be bored but I'll miss you every second."

"I can still cancel." she offered .

"No, you have promised you'd go and see your family and that is exactly what you are going to do, Bonnie McCullough."

"I knew you'd say this." she didn't sound very enthusiastic.

"It's just four days! And if you don't go now, I'll be late for work." Damon was nearly laughing as he pushed Bonnie towards the car. "Go now" he said as he opened the door and turned Bonnie towards him for a kiss. "Don't speed, stay off your cell phone and call me when you get there, alright?"(AN: Yep, I admit I stole the last one from the TV show.)

"Sure" Bonnie smiled and stood on tiptoe for one last kiss.

...

Damon stood in the street and watched the car as it vanished down the road leading out of town. He sighed and headed to the bookshop. It was three hours drive to Fell's church so it would be a while before Bonnie called. All in all, the next four days were going be absolutely boring.

It was the middle of the summer holidays and most of their schoolmates from the college were home or on vacations. Stefan and Elena had called a day ago to brag that they were going to the seaside. The seaside! _For __haven__'__s __sake, _Damon thought, _my __brother__'__s __supposed __to __be __a __vampire._ But nonetheless they had rushed off and were probably enjoying themselves. Damon and Bonnie had counted on a quiet weekend and were looking forward to it when her mother had called to practically order Bonnie back home.

Truth be told Bonnie had invited Damon to go with her as her boyfriend but he had refused. His reputation back in Fell's church wasn't going to make it easier to explain why her so called flatmate was a man and her boyfriend at that. Damon just imagined himself greeting her father. _"__Hello, __Mr __McCullough,__I __am __the __man __sleeping __with __your __daughter.__"_ Just perfect. And so here he was, spending the weekend alone instead of with his bird. If it wasn't for the full time job in the bookshop, he was sure he would go mad. With Stefan and Elena gone and Sage coming and going as he pleased he would have to wait until Sunday evening for company. At least he would be able to hold his bird again then.

...

Thursday rolled off and Friday was almost gone too. _"__Just __two __days__" _Damon thought as he lock the bookshop on Friday evening. He had a day off tomorrow and the shop was closed on Sundays so these two days were going to be utterly boring but still, two was better than four.

Later that evening Damon was just finishing his dinner when the doorbell rang. He frowned. Sage usually entered without knocking and Stefan and Elena couldn't be back yet. He opened the door cautiously and to his greatest surprise found himself facing none other but scary Meredith. Only this time she didn't look scary; she seemed...distraught.

"Oh, hi." she sounded confused. "Is Bonnie home?"

"Hi. I am afraid she went to see her parents. She'd be back tomorrow."

Meredith sighed heavily at that. Her eyes were shining as though with tears. Damon was taken aback. He had never seen her even close to crying before. She was always so calm and collected. What had happened to make her so miserable?

"Why don't you come in though?" he asked.

"Thanks" she smiled sadly.

Half an hour later she was settled on the sofa with a steaming mug of tea, her rucksack deposited in Damon's old room which Bonnie now insisted on calling the guest room.

Damon sat on a chair opposite her and sighed. This was not going to be an easy conversation.

"So" he began. "How have you been?"

"Oh, well. Everything is well. You and Bonnie?" she asked.

"We are fine, thanks."

As the awkward silence stretched Damon realised she wasn't going to tell him what the problem was.

"Where is Alaric? I would expect you to come together?"

Meredith seemed uncomfortable for a second then:

"He is busy at the moment so I decided I will come visit alone. He has to work a lot, you know." she added as an afterthought.

"_Liar__" _thought Damon. If she wasn't going to tell him what happened maybe he could find a way to drag it out of her.

"So, seeing as we are both alone and abandoned" he pretended not to notice her flinch at his choice of words. "why don't we go drown our sorrow somewhere, ah?"

She seemed uncertain.

"Come on, you can't say no. You know you can't resist my charm."

She laughed at that.

"Alright, you win."

...

"Where did you get the ID from?" Meredith asked when they had entered the bar.

"Sage helped me" Damon shouted over the music and the sounds of the crowd around them.

"You know, you never told me where you had met Sage."

Damon laughed.

"And I am not going to tell you soon." he pointed towards a small table at the back where the music didn't sound so loud. "How about here?"

"It is fine by me." Meredith's lack of energy was obvious.

They settled and a waitress appeared.

"A bottle of whisky and two glasses" Damon ordered.

Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"A bottle?"

"We'll cope, you'll see."

When the girl was back with their glasses Damon poured them drinks and raised his glass.

"To the old days" he said.

Meredith hesitated a bit.

"To the old friends" she said as she raised her own drink.

Their glasses clinked and they emptied them on one go. Damon poured again.

...

Two hours later the bottle was nearly empty and both of them were quite drank.

"Black magic's better." Damon concluded sadly. "Elena and I got drunk with it once. It was fun."

"Elena had a way of coping with you. Though Bonnie is the only one capable of bossing you around." Meredith pointed out her cheeks flushed. "You know, you haven't sat drinking only with Matt."

"You sure as hell know why." Damon frowned. "So, why isn't Alaric with you?"

Meredith sighed.

"I left him." she took a shaky breath. "There, I said it."

"I am sorry" Damon said quietly. "What happened?"

"I...he was seeing another girl. Samantha or something like that" she sobbed. "With a clearer past than mine."

"Jerk" Damon muttered under his breath.

"No" Meredith whispered. She was already crying openly, tears running down her cheeks. "I am the stupid one. Matt told me time and time again that he wasn't the right one for me. He offered me to go with him instead. And I kept on insisting that Alaric loved me." she sobbed more desperately now.

Damon stood up and circled the table. He pulled the stunned Meredith out of her seat and hugged her. She clutched at him as though her world was crushing down and he was her only shelter. Which he probably was, at least at the moment, he concluded.

"He said I would always be welcome but I assured him it would not be necessary. And how am I going to look at him now, how am I going to talk to him now when I so unwittingly rejected him two years ago. How can Matt ever want to see me again?"

Damon tightened his embrace and Meredith buried her head in his shoulder. The music had changed to a slow blues and she felt her body swinging gently in time with the rhythm. It was strangely comforting as were Damon's arms around her. Her head was swimming from the amount of whisky she had drunk.

"It's ok."

The words were soft and she almost believed them. The voice was familiar.

...

Damon quietly closed the door to the guest room where Meredith was already fast asleep. He had managed to bring her home from the bar and settle her in bed without it being far too awkward. She would sure have a hangover tomorrow but he was bound to have one too so she couldn't blame him.

He settled in the living room, phone in hand and deep in thought. He skimmed through his contacts and stopped at a number he hadn't called for a very long time. Ever since he had left Fell' church. Mutt – even in the cell's address book the Mortally Unable To Talk abbreviation seemed to describe the blonde haired boy better than any other name.

Damon hesitated. He wasn't sure this was the right thing to do but he didn't want to call Bonnie or Elena to ask. He shook his head, hit the dial button and waited.

"What?" a sleepy voice sounded on the other end of the line. "Who is this?"

"Hi, Matt. It' s Damon."

"What do you want you jerk" Damon smiled at how quickly Mutt seemed to have woken up. "Listen you idiot, I don't know what Bonnie finds in you but I am not going to tolerate you. If you pester me once again, I swear I'll..."

"Matt, it's about Meredith." Damon knew he had to say it straightaway or he risked Matt hanging up.

"What? What has happened? Is she ok?" the concern in his voice sounded sincere.

"Yes, she is fine, physically. But...she has broken up with Alaric and she is pretty messed up. I thought you'd wanna know."

"Where is she?"

"Here, at our place. She is asleep at the moment."

"And you are telling me this why?"

"She needs help but I am not the one to give it to her. And I have my reasons to think she feels too guilty to come and to talk to you herself. I just hoped..., Matt, hey Matt?"

But the line was dead. Damon sighed and headed to his own bed. He desperately wished Bonnie was home.

...

Just as Damon had predicted the next morning both he and Meredith suffered from the consequences of the previous night's drinking. They were seated at the kitchen table, frowning and clutching mugs of coffee, none of them really wishing to speak. Damon nearly jumped out of his skin when the doorbell sounded several times insistently.

"Will you get it for me please?" he turned to Meredith a bit breathlessly.

She almost chuckled at how frightened he looked and headed tiredly towards the door.

Damon smiled and crossed his fingers inwardly. He didn't need his vampire super senses to know who was most likely outside the door. It would be better if Meredith never found out what his part in this was.

...

Meredith opened the door and took a step back as she saw the person standing in front of her.

"Matt" she stammered.

"Mere" he looked at her with concern and stepped inside. "Oh, Mere" Matt embraced the still stunned Meredith. "I heard about you and Alaric and I guessed I would find you here. Are you ok?"

She shook her head without looking up from his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Mere? Why didn't you call me? Why don't you look at me?" Matt sounded disturbed.

A throat was cleared behind Meredith's back. Matt looked up and saw Damon, jacket in hand.

"Hi, Mutt. Why don't you two come in and talk some things over. I'll go out for a walk." he offered with a blank expression.

Matt only nodded over Meredith's shoulder.

...

When Damon entered the flat three hours later all was quiet. He left the Chinese takeaway he had gotten for lunch in the kitchen and went in the living room. Matt and Meredith were seated on the couch, Meredith curled up under Matt's left arm. _"__Lucky __guy, __I __want __to __hold __my __bird __like __that __too__" _Damon thought. Just then Matt looked up.

"Hey, we were waiting for you." he said. Meredith looked up and smiled. "We wanted to say goodbye."

"What? Aren't you staying for lunch?"

"No, sorry mate, if we don't leave now, we'll be late for the game." He turned to Meredith. "Honey, why don't you go and pack?"

She rose and left patting Damon's cheek as she passed him.

"Thanks, man." Matt offered his hand to the former vampire.

"Anytime, Mutt." answered Damon taking the offered hand.

Matt just huffed with amusement and shook his head at the name.

When Meredith's luggage was ready Damon stood at the door to see them off.

"Come on" Matt urged Meredith.

"Go get the car, I'll be down in a moment." she answered.

Matt shrugged and headed down.

"Thank you" she said.

Damon just nodded but didn't pull away when she suddenly took a step forward, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"We'll be in touch" Meredith promised. "Say hello to Bonnie."

"I will"

With a final nod Meredith followed Matt down the stairs.

Damon returned back inside and went straight to bed.

...

It was finally Sunday evening and a key sounded in the lock. Damon, who had been listening carefully from the couch, jumped and headed to the door. Bonnie locked and turned around just in time to find herself in Damon's embrace. She smiled when she felt him inhale the scent of her hair.

"Were you bored?" she asked playfully.

"Nope" the answer was muffled by her hair. "Heartaches are never boring. As is teasing Mutt." he added. "How was your stay? Any trouble at home?"

"No, just the same old stuff. What heartaches are you talking about?" she was finding it hard to concentrate as he kept on kissing her neck.

"Why don't ask Meredith?" he suggested as he surfaced for air.

"Alright" Bonnie reached for her cell.

"OH, NO, not now. You can do it tomorrow. Tonight you are all mine"

She chuckled as he carried her bridal style to the bedroom.

"And mine only" he added before he started kissing her again.

**REVIEWS, PLEASE!**


End file.
